Illusions of truth
by Austen01
Summary: Paige is still struggling with recent events. In an attempt to regain some control over her life, will she find herself further away from Emily than ever? And in more danger.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**Many thanks to Sharpie Ninja for her excellent beta skills and for taking a risk on a Paily story. I'll try not to let you down. :) A huge thank you also to Sarah, for all her help.**

**Chapter 1  
**  
"So we're still on for Saturday, right?" Emily eyed Paige over the top of the book she had to read for English.

"Huh?" Paige didn't look up from her trig homework on her lap.

They sat across from each other on the floor of Emily's room, Paige with her back against the wall and Emily leaning back on the bed, their legs outstretched side by side between them.

Emily set her book aside and leaned forward, capturing her girlfriend's attention with a gentle tap of her finger on Paige's free hand. "Saturday night? You, me, Spencer and Toby...Dinner? Ringing any bells?" Emily laughed.

"Oh yeah...no I remember. We're still on." Paige answered quickly as she turned her hand over, capturing Emily's retreating one.

Paige tried for a bright smile but Emily hadn't missed the brief flash of discomfort in her eyes. "But?" Emily asked, drawing the word out slowly.

Paige sighed, moving her books to one side. She scooted closer to Emily and tucked her legs up to her chest. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" When Emily opened her mouth to reply Paige held up her hand, silently cutting her off. "I know that things have been better between me and your friends since Halloween, but still...a double date with Spencer?"

Emily tightened her hold on Paige's hand. "Spencer likes you."

"Spencer tolerates me." Paige corrected, smiling at her girlfriend's optimism. "Because I'm with you, and because this week she doesn't think I'm a psycho stalker. But, it's only Wednesday..." She pointed out with a grin. "...there's still time for her to change her mind again before Saturday."

Emily nudged her foot against Paige's thigh playfully. "Oh come on, Spencer can be a little..."

Paige pretended to glance over both of her shoulders and gave a mock shudder. "Terrifying?"

Emily rolled her eyes with a smile. "Intense." She conceded with a tilt of her head. Spencer had always been driven, it was just in her nature to question everything, but even Emily had to admit that her friend's consuming need to find 'A' had led them all to some dark places. And honestly, given recent developments she couldn't blame Paige for being wary of voluntarily spending time with Spencer.

"Alright, the two of you aren't magically going to be best friends." Emily couldn't resist a small smile at the snort Paige gave that remark. "But, you guys have more in common than you think."

Paige raised an eyebrow skeptically, making Emily laugh. "I'm serious...you're both strong," Paige's eyes skittered away from hers briefly and Emily ducked her head to try and catch Paige's gaze.

"Stubborn," Emily continued, reaching up to stroke her thumb affectionately over Paige's jaw. "And neither of you will back down when it comes to the people you care about." Emily tilted her head to one side. "It's actually kind of adorable."

Paige searched her brain to come up with another argument against Saturday but she found herself getting lost in Emily's dark eyes, just like she always did. "Okay...double date." She murmured, leaning further into Emily's touch.

"Thank you." Emily smiled sweetly and Paige knew she'd made the right decision.

Paige's phone beeped from the floor and she gave Emily an apologetic smile as she reached for it.

Emily watched a frown crease Paige's forehead as she read a message. "Everything okay?" She asked, after a minute or so.

"Er...yeah." Paige looked up distractedly and shoved the phone into her pocket. "Just my Dad. I...I have to go." She pushed onto her knees and started gathering up her books, jamming them hastily into her bag.

"Oh." Emily stood and wrapped her arms around her waist, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. "Okay. Will you call me later?"

Paige didn't seem to notice Emily's fallen expression as she jumped up from the floor and slung her bag over her shoulder. "Of course." Paige grabbed both of Emily's hands and kissed her swiftly. "Bye, Em."

"Bye." Emily said to Paige's already retreating back.

Paige turned at the door and gave her a small wave before closing the door softly behind her.

Emily grabbed her phone from next to the bed and pressed the speed dial. "Hey Aria, are you doing anything?"

* * *

...

"...and I swear to Prada, if Jenna keeps smirking at me with that smug little grin...I will not be responsible for my actions." Hanna fumed as she dropped the pizza box on the counter with a little more force than necessary.

"Yeah, because that's what we need right now, Hanna...more drama." Spencer rubbed at her temple in frustration as the four girls gathered around the kitchen island. "Do you even listen to yourself?"

"How can I? My brain's too tired from trying to figure out what _you're _saying half the time." Hanna grumbled under her breath when Spencer moved to a cupboard to retrieve the plates, earning a giggle from Aria who was standing close enough to hear.

At Spencer's glare Aria turned to Emily and quickly changed the subject. "Er...what was that you were saying about Paige? Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah we're fine. We've actually been really close, I mean...since..." Emily waved her hand but didn't finish the thought, she didn't need to, the others all nodded, knowing exactly what she was referring to.

Nate.

_'That God damn son of bitch.' _Hanna thought, she clamped her teeth together so hard at the mere thought of him that her jaw ached.

Emily sighed, trying to think of a way to explain this gnawing feeling she had. "I don't really know how to explain it. There's no big thing, it's just a feeling."

"Well she has been through a lot recently, Em." Aria reasoned gently, settling onto one of the Hasting's breakfast stools. "You both have. Maybe she's still dealing with it all."

"Maybe." Emily agreed softly, unsure.

Spencer hated seeing that doubt in her friend's eyes. She might have a fairly rocky history with Paige, but even she had to admit that McCullers made Emily happy, and God...she deserved a little happy.

They all did.

Spencer stood a little straighter and addressed them all. "Okay...let's think about this from another angle." She ignored the sighs and groans escaping from Aria and Hanna, shooting daggers at the latter as Hanna mimed her head exploding, before turning her gaze to Emily. "What happened this afternoon?"

Emily threw out her hands. "Nothing, that's just it. We studied, we talked about our plans for Saturday, then she got a message from her Dad and she went home. That's all."

"Well, maybe that's it." Spencer replied, reaching for a slice of pizza. "Maybe she's having trouble with her parents."

Hanna frowned at Spencer. "What kind of trouble?"

Spencer stopped with her pizza halfway to her mouth before placing it down on her plate with exaggerated care. "The kind you get when you've recently been kidnapped, held hostage by a lunatic, and been a guest at a party on a train where somebody was murdered. What kind do you _think_, Hanna?" She asked in exasperation.

"I don't know, Spencer." Hanna narrowed her eyes at her friend, sarcasm dripping from her voice as she answered. "Maybe she hasn't been doing her chores."

Aria sighed. "Could you two stop squabbling, please? I swear it's like having toddlers in the house."

Hanna and Spencer grinned at each other, and Aria shook her head.

"But, why wouldn't she just tell me?" Emily wondered, lost to everything that was going on around her.

Hanna focused on Emily once again. "Em...she might not want to worry you with it." She shrugged.

"I'm her girlfriend; she's supposed to worry me with it. God...I'm already worried about it." Emily ranted, shoving her plate away in frustration. She suddenly wasn't very hungry anymore. "At least then I'd know exactly what I'm worrying about."

"Why don't you call her and ask her to come over?" Aria offered, delivering a swift kick to Spencer's calf when it looked like she might protest. "We should _all _be making more of an effort to get know Paige anyway." Aria kept her eyes on Spencer as she spoke, making it clear exactly who she thought should be making the biggest attempt.

Emily glanced hesitantly at Spencer, who gathered herself and smiled reassuringly. "Definitely." Spencer said pointing to the pizza boxes. "There's plenty to go around."

* * *

...

Paige pulled her bike to a stop at the entrance to the park and climbed off. God, she hated this place at night. There was something infinitely creepy about an abandoned play park. It had always made her think of the end of the world, like those films where people woke up and the rest of civilization had just disappeared.

_'Well, at least if the world was deserted I wouldn't have to have any more nightmares about someone jumping out at me from the shadows.' _Paige thought bitterly.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket and despite the grim turn her thoughts had taken she couldn't help but grin as she tugged it out and saw Emily's picture on the caller display.

"Hi, Em." Paige said; the smile still firmly in place.

"Hey." Paige could hear voices in the background as Emily greeted her, picking out Hanna's familiar laugh. She guessed the others wouldn't be too far away.

"What's up?" Paige asked as she glanced around again, checking the coast was still clear.

"Nothing. We were just hanging out at Spencer's and wondered if you wanted to come over." Emily sounded hesitant. "We have pizza." She added, hoping to sweeten the deal.

"Er...I can't. I'm sorry." Paige hunched her shoulder, tucking the phone a little further into her cheek as a truck rode past loudly. "I really have to ace my next trig test if I want to get back on coach's good side. I should really study."

"Oh...no that's alright." Emily sounded disappointed and Paige wanted to kick herself. "Erm...Paige? Are you outside? I thought I heard a car."

"Uh...I am." Paige covered quickly. "My Mom wanted me to take the garbage out." She closed her eyes at the lie.

Well, it wasn't too much of a lie she reasoned. Her parents might be out for the night, but Paige was pretty certain that her Mom would want her to take the trash out. Didn't mean she had to be actually doing it. She hated that she was lying to Emily though.

"Em?" Paige said. "What we talked about earlier...I really do want things to keep getting better with me and your friends, and I'm absolutely willing to make the effort." She sighed. "Just, you know...not tonight."

When Emily stayed silent Paige whispered, "Is…is that okay?"

"Yeah…no, of course that's okay. I just miss you, that's all." Emily answered softly, mindful of the three girls nearby who were pretending not to listen to her conversation.

Paige took a deep breath at the quiet words. It almost killed her when Emily said things like that. "I miss you too." She said reverently.

"Then get on with your studying so you can spend more time with me." Emily teased, wanting to make her smile. Paige laughed down the line and Emily's grin grew wider at the sound.

"Yes ma'am!" Paige shot back. "I'll talk to later. Night, Em."

"Night, Paige."

Paige waited a few seconds until she heard Emily disconnect the call before she switched off her phone. She turned back towards the park and straightened her shoulders, taking a deep breath. The last time she had gone wandering around in the dark she had ended up getting way more than she had bargained for. The only thought that calmed her jangled nerves was that this time she knew exactly what she was getting herself into. She was in charge, and that settled her. She hated being a victim. Hated how weak it made her feel. She had been weak before when it came to Emily and she wasn't about to go there again.

Paige had seen the looks people had thrown her way since Nate, like she was something to be pitied, and it made her skin crawl. The only time they hadn't, had been on the Halloween train, because for a few hours she hadn't been Paige. She had dressed herself up, hidden herself in a character so that she could put some swagger back in her step and pretend that the darkness didn't hold a few more shadows for her these days.

No, she'd had Emily on her arm and she had worn that suit like armor.

She wanted to feel that way again.

Paige pushed her bike through the park entrance without looking back.

* * *

...

Three faces looked up at her expectantly as Emily returned to the living room.

"So?" Aria piped up. "Is she coming over?"

Emily shook her head. "No, she has to stay home and study." She moved to the sofa and sat down next to Aria.

"That's too bad." Aria put her hand on Emily's arm.

Hanna looked confused. "Wait, I thought I heard you say Paige was out somewhere?"

"Huh? Oh...no. She was just taking the garbage out for her Mom." Emily said distractedly.

"Ah ha! See I told you!" Hanna exclaimed, gleefully picking up a cushion and throwing it across the room, hitting Spencer square on the chest. "Chores." She grinned smugly.

"Oh Jesus." Spencer grabbed the cushion, burying head into it with a groan as the others all laughed.

Emily couldn't help but laugh too. She smiled at her friends and tried her best to shake of the niggling feeling of worry about Paige.

* * *

...

Paige carefully dropped her bike to the ground and made her way over to the hooded figure swaying hauntingly on the swings. She sat down on the remaining seat and pushed back, letting the momentum carry her gently back and forth.

"I got your message." Paige waited a beat until her companion turned to face her before she continued with a sly smile. "So...what's the plan?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Big thanks to Sharpie Ninja and Sarah for their excellent beta skills and general awesomeness!**

**Judging by the reviews, I have few of you worried about Paige. For now, I guess you're just going to have to trust me. I'll try not to hurt you too much. :) **

**Chapter 2**

Emily walked slowly beside Paige's bike as the two of them headed to school. The autumn chill had definitely arrived and she tugged the sides of her jacket close to ward off some of the cold.

Their trip so far had been quiet and Emily thought back to the advice Aria had given her the night before, about making Paige feel comfortable enough to tell her what was going on. If Paige was having trouble at home, Emily wanted her to be able to talk to her about it. She wanted her to be able to talk to her about anything.

"So how was your night?" Emily asked casually, hoping to ease Paige into a conversation.

Paige made a noncommittal sound as she bent down quickly, suddenly intent on checking the bikes tires.

"Spectacularly boring." Paige answered eventually, her eyes still tracking the wheels of her bike. She looked up and gave Emily a small smile. "How about you? Did you have fun at Spencer's?"

"I did. It was nice to spend some time with them." Emily replied. "I feel like we've all been pulled in different directions lately."

"Well..." Paige reached for Emily's hand as she stood up and led her around the front of the bicycle "I happen to like the direction you've been pulled in."

"So do I." Emily smiled sweetly, as she came to a halt in front of her girlfriend. "Very much."

Emily closed the distance between them and placed a light kiss on Paige's lips. When they parted Paige was slow to open her eyes. "Um..what were we talking about again?" She blinked.

Emily laughed. "Me having a good time at Spencer's." She loved the effect she could have on Paige, loved that Paige didn't even try to hide it anymore. The more time they spent together, the more comfortable she had become. Emily couldn't remember the last time Paige had furtively glanced around when they parted from an embrace, and judging by the glazed look in her girlfriends eyes right now, she figured Paige was way past caring about who might be watching them.

"You know what?" Emily trailed her hand down Paige's arm and linked their hands, turning so that they could continue walking. "It was nice to see some things never change. I swear, Hanna and Spencer have turned arguing into an Olympic sport."

Paige laughed. It wasn't hard to picture who would be winning that fight. "And it's Hasting's for the gold!" She called out in her best Sportscaster voice.

"See you would think that...but Hanna can totally hold her own." Emily shook her head knowingly.

At Paige's pointed look Emily shrugged, "She fights dirty."

"Go Hanna." Paige looked suitably impressed. "I would probably pay to see that."

Emily took in her girlfriend as they walked.

"What?" Paige questioned when she caught Emily staring.

"Nothing." Emily shook her head. "You're just in a good mood. I like it."

"Oh yeah?" Paige grinned. "Must be the company."

"Must be." Emily winked playfully. "Speaking of company...can I see you tonight?"

"Erm.." Paige pretended to think about it for a second, earning her a soft swat to the stomach.

Paige laughed at the indignant look on Emily's face. "I can't think of anything I'd rather be doing." She replied honestly, and in that moment, Emily wanted nothing more than to turn around and take Paige somewhere they could be alone. But the increasing volume of voices meant that they were only a few minutes from arriving at school, so Emily cleared her dry throat and simply said, "About eight?"

"Sounds good." Paige pulled to a stop and locked her bike up in front of the school. "I have to go to the office for a new schedule before class," She straightened up and took Emily's hand once more as they climbed the steps into school. "I'll see you at lunch?"

"Erm.." Emily echoed Paige's reply from a few moments before, her lips quirking into a smile.

"Yeah yeah." Paige laughed. "I'll see you later, Fields." She gave Emily's hand a quick squeeze as they reached the end of the hall and parted ways.

* * *

...

Emily couldn't keep the smile from her face as she headed for her locker. Something felt different this morning. Paige had been more like her old self. Like for the first time in a while there wasn't some shadow hanging over them. No Nate, no Alison..no secrets. It was starting to feel like she could really believe in those words to Paige on the Halloween train. Maybe sometimes things did turn out alright.

"Hey." Hanna walked up with Aria and Spencer only a few steps behind.

"Hi guys." Emily grinned widely.

Hanna squinted at her, already trying to figure out what was going on with her. "Ooh..someone's happy."

"Very." Emily finished sorting her books in her locker and turned to face her three friends.

"Did you talk to Paige?" Aria asked.

Emily shrugged. "No, not really. I mean we talked...but not about that. There was something different this morning. I can't explain, I just...I have a really good feeling, you guys."

"Uh oh." Spencer muttered, taking a sip of her coffee and looking down at her feet.

"What?" Emily asked with a frown.

"Come on." Spencer glanced at them each in turn. "Seriously? Every time one of us gets even remotely happy, 'A' drops another bomb on us."

"What? So we should just give up on being happy? Spencer..." Hanna admonished sacastically.

"That's not what I said." Spencer shot back, turning to Emily. "Em, that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?" Emily tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear and gazed seriously at Spencer.

Spencer sighed and rubbed her temple with her free hand. "I just meant...maybe you shouldn't go shouting your '_happy_' from the rooftops, that's all."

"Oh please." Hanna rolled her eyes. "You can see it written all over her face every time she looks at Paige...or talks about her. Umm actually...every time she even thinks about her."

"Yeah." Aria chimed in, smiling fondly as Emily blushed along side her. "It's not like it's the world's best kept secret, Spence."

"Exactly!" Spencer argued. "All the more reason for Emily to be more careful."

"Spencer." Emily touched her friends arm. "I appreciate you looking out for me, I do. But, keeping things to ourselves doesn't help. We've all tried that at some point and 'A' still finds a way to get to us...and the people we care about." She took a deep breath. "Paige knows about everything and for once I don't have to keep any secrets from my girlfriend. Okay..maybe I won't shout it out across the cafeteria, but I'm _done_ hiding."

"Maybe..." Emily hesitated, unsure how to voice what had been on her mind lately. It was an idea that had been growing since their fateful trip at Halloween; she just hadn't had the guts to bring it up. "Well..since 'A' has decided to step it up. Maybe we should do the same."

The three friends stared at her for a few seconds before Aria simply nodded agreement.

Hanna inclined her head towards Emily and stated determinedly, "Yeah..what she said." The blonde was sick and tired of all of this running and hiding they had been doing lately.

"You realise that will be the equivalent of poking an already angry, not to mention murderous, bear right?" Spencer asked, hoping to reason with them. Though she didn't hold out much hope, she knew Emily's resolve face when she saw it.

"Oh, screw the bear!" Hanna exclaimed loudly, glaring irritably behind Spencer's head when some nearby freshmen wolf-whistled at the remark. She lowered her voice, "The bear has been leading us on this stupid dance for far too long."

Spencer narrowed her eyes and scrutinised the blonde as Hanna bit her lip to hide a smile. "You're thinking about dancing bears, aren't you?" Spencer claimed wearily.

"A little." Hanna conceded, her grin getting bigger. "They have tutu's on."

Spencer rolled her eyes. "Aria?" She tried for her last hope. "'A' tried to kill you on that train."

"Well...it _was _my turn, right?" Aria laughed nervously. Emily stepped closer to the smaller girl and rubbed her arm comfortingly as she continued, "At this point, what difference does it make? We go after 'A'...they come back at us. We lay low...and 'A' still comes after us. At least this way we get to have some sort of a life." Aria twirled her hand in the air. "In between random acts of creepiness and attempted murder, that is."

"So we're actually doing this?" Spencer's voice crept up a notch, a sure sign that she was agitated. "This is the plan?"

"Not really a plan, Spence." Emily felt the need to point out. "More of a mission statement."

Spencer snorted. "Which is just fancy way of saying plan."

"Fine." Hanna groaned. "Yes...this is the plan."

Aria raised one curious eyebrow and said what everyone else was thinking. "Yeah..and usually this is _your_ plan, Spencer."

"Well...maybe I was wrong. I've been wrong before." Spencer admitted quietly, avoiding their eyes.

"Spencer." Emily tried to get her friends attention. She couldn't argue with what Spencer said, there would be no point, their fight over Paige was a prime example of what happened when Spencer set her sights on a course of action. Even if it was the wrong one. But right now, Emily needed her to see that this wouldn't work without her. "We do this together, or not at all. We need you." She said firmly.

Spencer nodded slowly. "Okay." Deep down, she had known all along that she would agree. They worked better together, and it would take more than a little attack of self doubt to get Spencer Hastings to abandon her friends.

"Hey! Since you admit that your plans don't work anyway, maybe _I_ should come up with one this time." Hanna grinned, laughing outright as Spencer's jaw dropped open.

"Oh..I can't wait to hear this." Aria whispered to Emily as the two shared a grin.

"So I'm thinking..bears like honey, right?"

"That's Winnie the Pooh, Hanna." Spencer pointed out as calmly as she could.

Hanna looked at Spencer like she had two heads. "Yeah, and he's a bear." She explained slowly.

"We are _so_ screwed." Spencer muttered under her breath, taking a big gulp of coffee to settle herself.

"So you're really in?" Emily asked carefully.

Spencer sighed again, deeper this time. "I'm in. But I'll need to talk to Toby."

Emily nodded. "Paige is coming over tonight. I'll speak to her then."

"I'll...erm keep Ezra in the dark." Aria shrugged with a wry smile. "Why change the habit?"

"Okay then. Enough sharing in the hallway, some of us have grades to keep up." Spencer grumbled, shooting Hanna a look.

Hanna smirked, linking her arm through Spencer's and half dragged her away along the corridor. Emily laughed out loud as she heard the blonde singing, _'We're going on a bear hunt_', as the pair rounded the corner out of sight. After a quick goodbye, Aria headed in the other direction and Emily grinned all the way to her first class just picturing the look on Spencer's face.

* * *

...

"Haven't you had enough of things that go bump in the night?" A cool voice said from behind Paige as she walked out of the school office.

"Jenna." Paige sighed, hitching her bag over her shoulder. Great, just what she needed. Another round of twenty questions with the queen of all things mysterious. Jeez, you ruin one girl's party on the quest for the perfect cupcake and she never lets you forget it.

"What are you talking about?" Paige asked as casually as she could. There was no point in antagonising Jenna unless she had to.

"I just thought, given your recent _abduction_..." Jenna said the word with disdain, as she pushed away from the wall she had been leaning on. "...that you would be a little more careful, that's all. Wandering around Rosewood after dark really isn't good for your health."

Paige kept her face impassive. Jenna could just be being her usual sunny self, trying to get a rise out of her. "And what's that supposed to mean?" She asked, hoping she still sounded indifferent.

"It means...maybe late night trips to the park aren't really the best idea, are they?"

Paige's skin felt flushed and her natural defences began to kick in. She took a step forward, deliberately moving into Jenna's personal space, and lowered her voice. "Look, I don't know what you think you saw..."

Jenna didn't back down, instead she stepped even closer to Paige, eliminating the last vestige of air between them. "Oh, since I got my sight back you wouldn't _believe_ the things I've seen, Paige." Her brilliant green eyes raked up and down Paige's body.

Paige pulled back a step, uncomfortable under the intense scrutiny. "What do you want?" She questioned tightly, her fingers clutching reflexively around the strap of her bag until the knuckles turned white from the pressure.

"Me? Nothing." Jenna teased coyly, patting the bag that hung from her shoulder. "Except to get to class."

Jenna spun on her heel and sauntered off down the corridor as Paige watched her go, her jaw clenching painfully. The sick feeling in her throat only increased when Jenna stopped at the corner and turned back.

"Hey...doesn't Emily have English now too?" She flashed Paige a wide, fake smile. "Maybe we can sit together."

Paige fumbled around in her bag until she found her phone, unwilling to take her eyes off Jenna until she disappeared around the bend. She dashed off a quick message. **'We have a problem.'**

It didn't take long to get a reply. **'Tonight 9pm, I'll come to you.'**

Paige read the message and her stomach churned anxiously. Now she had to explain to Emily why she was blowing her off for the second night running.


	3. Chapter 3

******Big thanks to Sharpie Ninja and Sarah again for their excellent beta skills!**

**Chapter 3**

"Okay, Hanna, one more time...that is _not _the plan, alright? Just get it out of your head..."

"You're just jealous that I came up with an amazing plan this time and you didn't, go on, you can admit it." Hanna teased with a huge grin. She stood up on the concrete bench and threw her arms out wide, addressing the school courtyard loudly. "Say it with me...'My name is Spencer Hastings, and I'm a control freak!' Let it out, you'll feel so much better!"

"Sit down!" Spencer hissed, desperately tugging at Hanna's jacket. When that didn't work, she turned to Aria with a groan. "Can't you do something about her?"

"Oh...no way." Aria laughed and shook her head. There was no way she was going to get in between these two, she thought reaching for her lunch. "She's all yours."

"Em...?" Spencer all but pleaded, swinging round to the brunette.

Emily sighed and took out her phone, quickly bringing up a website; she tilted the screen up towards the blonde. "Hanna, did you see this latest sale on shoes?"

"Ooh." Hanna squinted at the screen for a second before jumping down from the bench and grabbing it from Emily's hand, her fingers already eagerly scrolling down the pages.

"Sometimes distraction works better than confrontation." Emily shrugged at Spencer's look of disbelief.

"Hey, maybe we should try that with 'A'." Aria laughingly suggested.

"Yeah, somehow I don't think waving a pair of Jimmy Choo's around will work with a homicidal maniac, do you?" Spencer griped, her cheeks still flaming with embarrassment at Hanna's earlier antics.

"Eh...you never know." Aria answered airily, still munching on her sandwich.

"Maybe she's right." Emily pondered. At Spencer's pointed look she shook her head and quickly clarified, "Not about the shoe thing."

"What do you mean?" Spencer lent forward on her elbows and gestured for the others to do the same, closing in around the table and effectively shielding their conversation from the people around them.

"We need a distraction, something to keep 'A' busy while we try and find out who they are."

"Er...how do we do that?" Hanna asked, finally looking up from Emily's phone.

"Same way Emily distracted you." Spencer answered with gleam in her eye, having caught on to Emily's idea. "We just need to have something that 'A' wants...or at least pretend that we have."

"That's easier said than done." Aria chipped in warily.

Spencer rolled her eyes at the throw away saying and felt the need to reply, "Things are almost exclusively easier said than done, Aria."

"What about that Supercally thingy from the nun film? That's really hard to say." Hanna said distractedly, her eye caught by a beautiful pair of shoes that she could never afford. "Anyway, how are we supposed to know what 'A' wants? I mean, if we knew that, wouldn't we know who they are already?"

"That's the great part; we don't really have to know what they want. We just have to make them think that we know what they want...and that we have it. See?"

Hanna blinked at Spencer and then pinched the bridge of her nose. "This is starting to sound a lot like algebra. A plus B equals what? Nothing...they're just letters. Why can't they just use numbers like normal people?"

Emily spluttered as she took a sip of her water at Hanna's remark. She wiped hastily at her chin when she spotted Paige walk out of the school and head over to their table.

"Hi..." Paige touched Emily gently on the shoulder as she reached them and then addressed the others. "Hey guys."

"Em…can I talk to you for a sec?" Paige said after they had all returned her greeting.

"Sure." Emily rose from her seat and they moved to a more private position near the wall. "I wanted to talk to you too actually, but it can wait till tonight."

Paige looked down and her feet at shifted uncomfortably. "I can't make it tonight. Something came up."

"Oh...is everything okay?"

"Yeah. My Dad just wants me home early again tonight, that's all." Paige was thankful that she didn't have to lie to Emily. Her parents did expect her to be home tonight, it's just that neither of them would be home from work until after ten. She had been planning on spending a couple of hours at Emily's and being home well before they were. But after Jenna, her plans had changed.

"Okay." Emily drew the word out slowly as she tried to come up with a solution. "I could come over to your place instead?"

"That might not be a good idea."

"Paige." Emily sighed. "Is there something going on at home? Because if there is, you can tell me. Are your parents freaking out about what happened? Nate...and Halloween, I mean." Emily's voice wavered slightly when she said his name, but she refused to give him that kind of power over her anymore. It was just a name, and he was gone.

"Oh...I mean they would prefer it if I didn't make a habit of being kidnapped by crazed stalkers, and train travel is out for a while but, you know..." Paige forced a laugh but trailed off weakly when she saw the less than amused look on her girlfriends face. She didn't want to lie to Emily about the situation at home. Her parents _were _riding her about being home more, they had only just loosened the reins a little for the Halloween train, after days of begging, and look what happened. Since that disaster Paige half expected to open her eyes in the night to find her Mom and Dad standing guard by the bed with pitchforks in their hands.

Paige sighed and tried to explain how things were for her at the moment. "They're being a little strict about me being home more often these days, and on time. But, I get that...don't you?"

"Of course, I mean my Dad practically wanted to slap a tracking device on me. But, I still have a life to get on with. I have a job, and a girlfriend, and I'm not willing to hide away in my room forever to make my parents happy."

"Yeah." Paige agreed, somewhat weakly.

"Is that what the problem is? Is it me?" Emily asked, stepping forward. When Paige didn't answer straight away she pushed for more. "Paige? Do they not want you seeing me?"

"It's not like that." At the skeptical look on Emily's face Paige rushed to reassure her. "Really...it's not."

What could she say? Paige couldn't deny things were strained at home. Her parents had spent plenty of time over the last few weeks behind closed doors, obviously discussing her, and judging by the raised voices she had heard on occasion they were quite clearly having trouble agreeing on what was the best course of action to take.

Her Mom had been trying her best to act normally, to the point of being overly cheerful most of the time. But Paige had seen the dark circles beneath her eyes, the slight tremble in her Mother's hands as she passed the milk at the breakfast table, so she knew it was taking its toll.

Her Father had been more withdrawn about the whole subject, which was rare. Paige could only assume that was a result of her parents less than secret meetings. She assumed that he had been told in no uncertain terms to keep his views on this to himself, at least in front of Paige anyway. It was funny really. Her Dad, who for as long as she could remember had took the lead when it came to her life, had been so involved in her swimming and with school, was now relegated to a virtually silent presence.

The only outward sign that he gave to his real feelings were small twitches in his jaw whenever Emily's name was mentioned since the attack. It was small, virtually undetectable if you didn't know him very well, but Paige had spent a lifetime watching this man for small signs of his approval and she'd seen it straight away.

Paige wished that she could reassure them, wished she could promise with all her heart that nothing like that would ever happen again and not have it be a lie. But she couldn't do that now.

Not now that Emily had told her everything.

Not now that Paige had...well, anyway...not now.

"They're scared, Em. Scared of what happened...what _could _have happened." She amended, because that was real problem with her parents. After Alison's murder, they had kept a close eye on her for a while, wanting to know where she was all the time, who she was with. But then they eased off, figured it would be against the odds for something like that to happen again in a small town. But after Nate, it was only too easy for them to imagine Paige in Alison's place. They were just trying to hold on to her, a little too tightly for her liking, but she understood the reaction.

She hoped Emily would too.

"It will blow over. I just have to play along for a little while until they deal with it, that's all."

Emily nodded slowly, and then gave voice to the worry that had been plaguing her so often lately. "What about you? Are you dealing with it?"

"Emily." Paige sighed.

"You know what? Can we just forget I asked that?" Emily cut her off, holding up her hand with a rueful smile. "This isn't the time or the place to have that talk."

Paige glanced around at all the others students milling around the small courtyard and smiled back at Emily. "No, maybe not."

"But.." Emily stepped closer to Paige and reached for her hand. "I reserve the right to bring it up again. Okay?"

"Deal." Paige nodded, gently squeezing Emily's fingers. "Actually, here..." She dropped their joined hands to dig deep into her bag, pull out some paper and a pen and quickly scribble something down. When she was finished she handed the small slip to Emily with a flourish.

Emily took it, rolling her eyes at Paige's exaggerated behavior. "I owe you...one serious talk." She read aloud and looked up questioningly. "What's this?"

"A promise..." Paige answered, leaning forward and pointing to the bottom of the page. "Signed and everything."

Emily laughed, tucking the paper safely into her pocket. "I'll hold you to that."

"Feel free to hold me in whatever way you like." Paige teased, placing her hands on Emily's waist.

"I will." Emily grinned at Paige and looped her arms casually around her neck, scrunching up her nose in distaste as the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch.

"Walk with me?" Emily untangled herself from Paige and pulled the red head back over to their table so that she could pick up her bag.

When they reached her locker Emily stopped and turned to face Paige. "Text me later?"

"Sure." Paige replied, kissing her lightly on the cheek. "Bye, Em."

Emily watched Paige walk away until she turned the corner, cursing the fact that their schedules were so different. She knew that for the next hour at least they would be at opposite ends of the school. Emily turned with a heavy sigh and set off for her next class, pausing a few seconds later when her phone beeped with a message. She reached into her bag and pulled it out, reading the text with a smile.

**'This is me, texting you...and technically, it's later.'**

'**You're not funny.'**

She sent back.

The reply didn't take long to come. **'Then why are you smiling?'**

Emily jerked her head around, her smile growing even wider when saw Paige leaning on the wall by the corner at the end of the hallway, smirking at her.

Emily glanced at the time and figured she had another minute or so before she absolutely had to head to class, so she quickly typed out another reply.

**'Nobody likes a smart ass. What are you doing?'**

Emily saw the second Paige received it because the redhead glanced down at her phone. Paige bit her lip and looked thoughtful for a second then began tapping swiftly at the buttons, so Emily knew to expect another message. She smiled again as her phone beeped right on cue.

**'I'm just looking at you. And being amazed...again.'**

Emily's chest tightened warmly at the familiar words and suddenly, class didn't seem so important anymore. She dropped her phone back into her bag, laughing when Paige frowned and looked confused.

Emily strode determinedly down the almost deserted hallway, not stopping until she stood directly in front of Paige and invaded her personal space.

"And I'm looking right back." Emily breathed quietly, pulling Paige shortage brief, but passionate kiss.

"I'll have to be a smart ass more often." Paige replied a little breathlessly when they broke apart.

"Yeah yeah." Emily grabbed Paige by the shoulders and turned her around, shoving her gently in the direction she had to go. "Now get to class!"

Paige's laugh echoed down the hall and Emily found she couldn't move until she had watched Paige turn out of her sight.

* * *

...

_'Kick kick...breathe…kick kick'  
_  
Paige let the familiar routine of the pool soothe her nerves. Being in the water was second nature for her; she didn't have to even think about it. She could let her mind go completely blank as she cut through the water; she supposed it was as close to meditating as she would ever come. Paige finished another lap and hoisted herself out onto the side, checking her watch for the time as she grabbed her towel and headed back up to the house. It was a little before 8:30pm so she figured she had just enough time to shower and change before her guest arrived.

Paige gasped, clutching the towel to her chest in surprise as a hooded figure emerged from the shadows by the back porch.

"_Jesus_, Toby! You scared me." Paige blew out the breath she had been holding. "I thought you said nine? You're early."

"Sorry." Toby pushed the hood back off his head and grinned at her in the half light of the porch.

Paige draped her towel over her shoulders and unlocked the back door, holding it open for Toby to walk through. "Come in."

A rustle in the nearby bushes caught Paige's attention just as she was about to follow him inside and she stepped away from the door to squint, suspiciously, into darkness for any signs of movement. When none emerged Paige walked back inside, careful to lock the door behind her.

From the safety of their hiding place, watchful eyes tracked Paige's movements through the kitchen until the light was switched off. Then they approached the house.


End file.
